The Ongoing Conference Realignment in College Athletics

The NCAA is currently seeing many of its members leave their conferences for new ones and several shocking moves have occurred. (Cover Photo Via washingtonpost.com)

In 2013, the Big East Conference endured a shift that saw many of its members leave. Despite a strong reputation in Basketball with the likes of Connecticut and Villanova, Football was weak in the conference. Former members Miami and Virginia Tech were dominant in Football but left for the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2003.

2013 was the year that the “last” Big East tournament took place before many of its members left. The Big East reformed on July 1st, 2013, but without many of its powerhouse members. Louisville, Notre Dame, and Syracuse all left for the ACC. (Photo Via jokermag.com)

The Big East did manage to reform and Connecticut eventually rejoined the conference, but the dissolving of the original Big East Conference showed that no conference of the NCAA was safe from realignment. In July of 2021, Big 12 Conference members Oklahoma and Texas announced they would soon leave for the Southeastern Conference. This move would allow Oklahoma and Texas to gain more national exposure for their football programs in a highly competitive conference with elite schools in Alabama and Georgia.

Perhaps the most shocking move came in 2022 when longtime Pac 12 Conference members UCLA and USC announced that they would soon join the Big Ten Conference. The Big Ten and Southeastern conferences are looking to add more elite programs, and both have looked towards the Atlantic Coast. Rumors have swirled that several members of the Atlantic Coast Conference including North Carolina and Duke could leave in favor of a more competitive conference if other elite schools decide to exit the ACC.

Although it seems unlikely now, North Carolina and Duke could both leave the ACC in favor of either the quickly growing Big Ten or SEC. (Photo Via sportingnews.com)

It seems unlikely that the Atlantic Coast and Big 12 conferences would fold as both have been successful in all athletic sports. As realignment continues, it is more likely that these conferences add more members, like what the Big Ten and Southeastern conferences are doing. Multiple "super conferences" of large groups of elite athletic programs seems to be becoming a reality and will come with plenty of benefits and detriments.

With the potential of super conferences becoming a reality, many programs could have incredible matchups that only occur once in a long while. Michigan State and UCLA don't play each other often in athletics, but with these dominant teams guaranteed to play at least once a season, this creates more exciting and high-stakes matchups. A higher level of competition in conferences will help every team improve for the postseason and rake in higher ratings.

While competition may increase with super conferences, what happens with teams who are left out? Many competitive mid-major schools like Gonzaga do not play in elite conferences and are not able to play against nationally-ranked opponents for much of the season. If mid-major schools are neglected during the ongoing realignment, these schools' athletics programs will continue to not consistently play elite competition for a large part of the year.

Although Gonzaga may find a more competitive conference, other powerful mid major schools may not be able to with realignment. (Photo Via bustingbrackets.com)

As conference realignment continues, good and bad effects will happen. There will be an increased level among many schools, but there could also be a high power imbalance with other conferences if not done right. The ongoing realignment must be done right and should account for every school's overall athletic performance, not just Basketball and Football.